This is a list of steps and tests that can be done at home to identify your gemstones or minerals. No one single test will usually identify a gemstone or mineral, you need quite a few tests to do this, though these tests will offer some way of doing this at home without the need for specialist gemology equipment. It will not offer an exact way of determining which stone or mineral you have found but will certainly give you a good idea and get you on the right track.

1) Specific gravity or SG, is used to determine the weight as in grams per cubic centimetre. Follow the link for a simple and detailed SG test that you can perform at home if you have an accurate set of gold or gem scales.http://johnbetts-fineminerals.com/jhbny … ravity.htm

2) Streak test, this is another good and very simple test that can be used to determine what type of gem or mineral you have found. You need a ceramic tile to perform this test, you then scratch the back rough side of the tile with your mineral or gemstone to see what colour has been left by the scratch, this is called the streak. Now you have your streak colour you can reference it online such as the website in this link.http://geology.com/minerals/streak-test.shtml